Sunshine Matters

Congratulations, U.S. Travel Industry!  Today, President Obama signed the Travel Promotion Act into law.  This marks a significant day for our industry and we have much to celebrate.  I want to take this occasion to once again thank everyone in the Florida tourism industry who helped make this a reality.

To view the official White House video of President Obama signing the Travel Promotion Act in the Oval Office, please click here.

In case you didn’t receive this directly yourselves, I’ve included below the text of a special message from U.S. Travel Association President Roger Dow that he sent out less than an hour ago.

Dear Travel Colleague:

It’s official – the Travel Promotion Act is now law. It’s a great day for America and the travel community with the United States solidly on the path to welcome millions of new visitors and in the process create thousands of American jobs.

We are extremely grateful to the legislation’s champions and need to thank those who supported it in both the House and Senate. At the same time, it is important that we continue to promote the benefits the Travel Promotion Act will bring to local communities across the country.

While travel promotion isn’t a panacea for our international inbound travel issues – welcoming more visitors also requires continued improvement in visa and entry processes – this is the biggest commitment our government has made to support international travel to our country and the clearest indication to date that Congress is taking travel seriously.

For your convenience and to assist you in your communications plans, we have created a toolkit of resources (see below) that provides a timeline of next steps expected in the transition to create the Corporation for Travel Promotion, as well as several useful templates for crafting messages to your local media and policymakers.

Our newfound industry stature will play a critical role in helping us better manage future issues such as climate change, crisis situations and barriers to travel. It is critical that our industry express its gratitude to those who made passage of the Travel Promotion Act possible. Please take time to help make that happen.

Sincerely, Roger Dow

Travel Promotion Toolkit

• Press Release: President Obama Signs Travel Promotion Act
• Best-Case Implementation Scenario
• Key Messages
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Sample Press Release
• Ideas to Localize Benefits
• Ideas for Local Press Events for Members of Congress and other Leaders
  
• Sample Media Advisory for Press Event
• Sample Letter to the Editor (General)
• Sample Letter to the Editor (Thank Member of Congress)
• Sample Opinion Piece
• Sample Newsletter Copy

Roger couldn’t be more right – while the TPA becoming law marks a significant milestone for the industry, it is most certainly in our best interest to thank the legislators who made it happen and to continue to spread the word about the importance of tourism to the country’s economy.  Please feel free to make use of the items in the toolkit above to reach out to your legislators and local media in the weeks and months to come.